One fisherman’s trash is another fisherman’s treasure

By Robert DeWittOutdoors Writer

Saturday

Jun 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Most fishermen here stay on the water all their lives pursuing four species of fish — bass, bream, crappie and catfish. But there are plenty of other species inhabiting Alabama’s freshwater and some of them put up a good fight on a rod and reel, and taste good as well.

TUSCALOOSA | Most fishermen here stay on the water all their lives pursuing four species of fish — bass, bream, crappie and catfish. But there are plenty of other species inhabiting Alabama’s freshwater and some of them put up a good fight on a rod and reel, and taste good as well.District Fisheries Biologist and Supervisor Jay Haffner called them “under utilized” species. Others call them rough fish or trash fish. But as so often is the case, one man’s trash is certainly another man’s treasure. “We are dedicated to the pursuit of this great native species and to the education of the uninformed angler who has too often heard this fish called ‘trash,’” the Bowfin Angler’s Group says on its webpage. “The Bowfin, with its partner the gar, claim the title ‘America’s Toughest Sportfish For 100,000,000 Years.’ Almost all of our group started out chasing ‘those other fish,’ but upon discovering bowfin, we discovered a whole new world of fun.”Here are five species not considered “game fish” in Alabama that can never-the-less be caught and, in some cases, eaten.

Bowfin (Grinnell)According to the Bowfin Anglers Group, this fish goes by numerous other names, including amia calva, beaverfish, blackfish, choupic, choupique, cottonfish, cypress trout, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, grinner, lawyer, mudfish, poisson-castor, scaled ling, shoepick, shoepik, shoepike, shupik and speckled cat. Its wide distribution throughout the country probably helped create the proliferation of common names.Grinnell is the name most commonly used in this area and it is one of the nongame fish most often encountered by fishermen. That’s because it’s a fish eater that hangs out in shallow backwaters, so it shares the same habitat and diet as bass and, depending on the time of year, crappie.“When it blows up on that expensive top-water lure, for about seven or eight seconds you think you’ve hooked the new state record bass,” Haffner said.Unlike bass, grinnell have sharp canine teeth that give them a reputation for tearing up tackle. Averaging about 24 inches and four pounds in this area, they are extremely strong and put up an excellent fight. Haffner said fishing a live green sunfish below a bobber next to weeds in shallow water is a good grinnell tactic.Their reputation as table fare is not so good. The nickname “cottonfish” comes from their reputation for having tough, dry, chewy meat.

Common CarpThere’s an old joke about cooking carp. It goes that you should nail the carp to a pine board with a knot in it and put it in an oven set on its highest temperature. When the carp and board have burned away, eat the pine knot. But a good many people around the world would disagree.“More people in the world eat carp than any other fish,” Haffner said.The knock on carp is its bones.“They are a bony fish, but they have some very firm flesh” Haffner said. “There are a lot of bones to tackle.”The other knock is that they’re downright ugly, with their big scales and sucker mouth. The best way to catch them is with dough balls fished on the bottom where they search for worms, insect larvae and plankton. Wheaties cereal soaked in water will make excellent dough balls.“It’s kind of the cockroach of the fish world,” Haffner said. “This fish can live anywhere. Therefore, it’s found nearly everywhere.”When carp venture into shallow water, they are a favorite target for archers who bow fish.

Chain and Red Fin Pickerel (Jack)Most often referred to in this area as a jack, the chain and red fin pickerel are the only members of the pike family native to Alabama. They are not nearly as large as their cousins, the northern pike and the muskie. They generally grow to no larger than 24 inches and five pounds.The two pickerel species live in rivers, streams, reservoirs, swamps, just about anywhere there’s enough water to support them. They hang out near weed beds and undercut banks.“This is a predator, an efficient predator,” Haffner said. “It’s a lie-in-wait predator. It’s an excellent game fish. It jumps repeatedly when hooked.”But it has a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that cut lines and tear up lures. So anglers targeting jacks would likely use wire leaders. They like flashy, fast-moving lures.Jacks aren’t great fish to eat, Haffner said. They have lots of fine bones that are very difficult to separate from the flesh.

Freshwater drumA freshwater drum looks like the inland version of the saltwater redfish. And some say the taste is very similar.“The flesh is very similar to bass or a redfish,” Haffner said. “It’s ugly, it’s a bottom feeder, but it’s a great tasting fish.”Redfish were once considered trash fish on the coast. Once people discovered how good it was to eat, the fish was almost driven to extinction. Freshwater drum haven’t quite caught on. Drum are often caught below dams. Smaller fish live in backwater while larger fish live in open water. They can be caught on a variety of lures and bait. When Haffner fished in the Great Lakes for walleye, he frequently caught freshwater drum.“They eat aquatic insects on the bottom, crayfish and freshwater muscles,” Haffner said.

BuffaloThere are three species of buffalo in Alabama — smallmouth, bigmouth and black buffalo. It’s one of the fish caught most frequently by freshwater commercial fishermen. It’s one of the most common fish in the river. It’s a fish with a stubby head and broad shoulders. While also known as a bony fish, its rib section has a growing reputation as good eating.“They’re abundant along river banks,” Haffner said. “They go upstream to spawn in rapids. They root around on the bottom looking on insects and other critters that live on the bottom of our rivers, even freshwater muscles.”

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